To San Diegans, rugby was little more than an obscure British game until Frank Mattarocci showed up and started coaching the Aztec Rugby team at San Diego State in the late 1950s.

A football star at Cal who played a season with the New York Giants, Mr. Mattarocci’s passion for rugby helped raise the status and popularity of the sport in San Diego. He also brought the first American Football League All-Star game to San Diego’s Balboa Stadium in 1962.

“He was a dynamic, fun person to be around,” said friend Tom Rodger, who played football and rugby with Mr. Mattarocci at Cal. “You’d like to play for him.”

Mr. Mattarocci died Jan. 13 at his home. He was 81. The cause of death was a heart condition, said his son, Mike Mattarocci.

Born Nov. 8, 1931 in Lime, Colo., Frank Peter Mattarocci adopted San Diego as his hometown after joining the U.S. Navy in 1949. He served on the USS Boxer during the Korean War and earned a Navy commendation for risking his life to save three men from a fire on the ship in 1952.

After completing his military service in 1953, Mr. Mattarocci studied and played football at what was then San Diego Junior College before transferring to the University of California. At Cal, he was president of Kappa Sigma fraternity and played on both the rugby and football teams.

Mr. Mattarocci was attracted to rugby because of its relative lack of structure compared to football, Rodger said.

“There’s nobody pushing an agenda at you like there is in football,” Rodger said. “It’s a ruffians’ sport played by gentlemen.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1958, Mr. Mattarocci played professional football with the New York Giants. He left the team after one season and returned to San Diego.

Mr. Mattarocci married Roberta Montgomery in 1961. They had three children and divorced in 1975.

Mr. Mattarocci made a living selling insurance and later worked with the U.S. Navy teaching recruiters how to improve their pitches. He made an unsuccessful bid for San Diego City Council in the 1970s.

The discipline that Mr. Mattarocci honed as an athlete helped him in business, said auto dealer Tony McCune, a college friend and Kappa Sigma fraternity brother.

“He was a great teacher,” McCune said. “He occasionally came to my dealership and lectured the salesmen on salesmanship.”

Mr. Mattarocci was known among friends for his sense of humor and casual manner. He always wore shorts and flip flops and did not always wear a shirt to business meetings, said his daughter, Sherilyn Haug.

In 1980, Mr. Mattarocci took over a friend’s struggling limousine company. Presidential Limousine quickly became the largest limousine company in San Diego and the fifth-largest in the country.

“He was not a buttoned down, spit and polish type of guy,” said friend Bob Adelizzi. “He was pretty much one of the guys working every day in a small business environment, trying to make it work.”